Do you fancy having an emergency stash of useful apps in your BlackBerry 10 smartphone? Gadget Box is well worth checking out. It's kind of like having a Swiss Army Knife in your handset. The app is made up of eight useful gadgets - some for everyday use and some for when you may be in an emergency situation. They are all pretty cool though.

Lets start with the flashlight. This is something we have seen on BlackBerry for a long time. This version though also has strobing built in and using the adjustable bars on screen you can adjust from a long flash to a quick burst. Maybe handy for signalling where you are or if your car breaks down at night.

Next up is a protractor. I'm never going to use this feature but clearly some people will or it wouldn't be in the app. Then we have a unit converter. There are twelve options for units here ranging from weight to speed. A handy tool to have on your BlackBerry for sure.

We have a compass already on BlackBerry 10 but there is also one in the Gadget Box too. Where things get a little more interesting is that you can activate the native BlackBerry Maps app from the compass and have the two running as one - clever stuff.

I'm a big fan of using a speedometer on my Blackberry while I'm driving and the one in the Gadget Box is pretty sweet. You have two options for viewing the display - one with just numbers and one with some extra graphics which look like a car speedo. It works perfectly I am pleased to say.

Using morse code is not something I'm likely to use but if I was stuck up a mountain It may come in useful. I'm not going up a mountain though! Using it is simple - just key in the text you need and press play. As well as the BlackBerry making the morse sound it also uses the camera flash.

Last but not least is the height feature. This is probably the most clever within the app. If you need to measure something but don't have a tape measure you can use the app. It utilises the camera application and so you point the camera at one edge of the item you wish to measure, take a reading and then do the same at the other end. Gadget Box then asks your approximate distance from the subject and then gives you the result. This feature is really impressive so kudos to the developer.

Gadget Box will set you back $1.99/£1.50 and if you think it would be a handy app to have in case you ever need it I would highly recommend it. It's certainly staying on my Z10.

Reader comments

A selection of handy apps all within Gadget Box for BlackBerry 10

I just want to point out that there are lots of features and settings to explore in the app, so take your time to poke around! :)

For example, in the compass, you can drop GPS markers and later on activate them to have the compass show you distance and direction to the marker (which also works for geocaching, which i've tried out)...also, there is a cool (IMO) map view for the compass that will put your activated marker on a map that will tilt and rotate with your phone (or not! there's settings for that too!).

Also, check out the other level views, flashlight view, settings for the speedometer etc etc etc. (swipe down for the settings menu to see all the stuff you can mess with! There are settings for a lot of stuff, and more features on the way!)

In short, thanks for the good review James! Cheers, and BB for life! :)

I loved this App and downloaded immediately when I saw it's Swiss Army Knife like uses...

Particularly caught my attention was the ability to log in multiple sites on the Compass feature...beats out the Car Finder app..as one can set multiple targets (eg.geocaches)... or if cycling one could put waypoints...as well as lock in an emergency site if going for help in the woods (or just campsite when hiking)...

On the Cycling Point...having the speedometer running...IT WOULD BE A GREAT ADD-ON to have a built in RINGER when passing pedestrians on paths...so the Z10 could become your handlebar dashboard...with speed, distances logged, etc...even a night light...

A little tweeking here and there and I think you have the makings of a perfect instrument dashboard thanks to Z10 multi-tasking; music player, bell ringer, flashlight (when caught in the dark), trip logger and who knows what else once you start applying it to in this configuration...

Also, if you're using it for cycling, you can change the numbers on your speedometer dial, so that the top end is not 150 km/h, but something more reasonable for a cyclist, like 35 - 45 km/h instead.

Good ideas for the waypoints and whatnot. As i cyclist myself, i don't know if the ringer would be loud enough for a pedestrian, but it's worth investigating! Distances traveled is already on the roadmap for the speedo ;)

Worked for me...a workable dashboard in the making...
MY MISTAKE...IT WAS YOUR FLASHLIGHT...using LED LIGHT...
(however , it shuts off when using the Compass/Map mode.. so that feature could be accomodated)

It's now on my wish list for when I get a Z10 ! It'd be very cool if it, using the camera app, could receive Morse code and translate it too! It'd be a whole nutter type of communication our Berries could do!

Amazing App , Totally worth it .
I love the compos and map , pretty accurate and good to amaze friends and iphone holders :p
I wish the updates keep coming and to add some weird stuff like Metal detector would be kewl for engineering ppl like me , Pips behind walls :p.

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